6 Diseases Your Lack Of Sleep Could Be Causing

Sleeping is a really important part of our lives. We must do it in order to recharge our bodies and be ready for the following day’s tasks. Also, all the stress from the previous day is removed during this process as well. And the damaged tissues are being repaired during sleeping too.

So, it’s logical to assume that if we don’t sleep enough, these processes aren’t taking place as long as they should be, so we will feel very bad the next day. If we continually keep up with this habit, eventually our lack of sleep may brink negative consequences on our health. Researchers have also conducted different studies, examining how the sleep deprivation affects every part of our body. In this article, we will mention the diseases and conditions that you may develop as a result of your lack of sleep, according to these studies. They can be very dangerous and even fatal. So, keep on reading to learn more about them.

1. Alzheimer’s disease

The John Hopkins University conducted a study in 2013 which showed how sleep deprivation may cause Alzheimer’s as well as speed up its progression. This is because during sleep our brain removes cerebral waste, and if we don’t sleep enough this waste accumulates and causes dementia.

The study was conducted on 70 adults, which were aged between 53 and 91. The people who didn’t get enough sleep had more beta-amyloid deposition in their brains when they were PET scanned. Also, beta-amyloid is known to cause Alzheimer’s, so this is a sure indicator that sleep deprivation causes this disease.

2. Obesity and Diabetes

Recently the University of Chicago conducted a study about the link between diabetes and lack of sleep, as well as obesity. The main research was directed towards the fatty acid buildup during in people with poor sleep.
The study was conducted on 19 men, and the ones that had 4 hours of sleep during 3 nights had increased fatty acids. On the other hand, The people who had at least 8,5 hours of sleep during the three nights had 15-30% lower levels of fatty acids. Insulin resistance was also increased in people who didn’t sleep enough, which is another indicator of diabetes.

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3. Cardiovascular disease

The EuroHeartCare presented a study recently which showed the results of their study on 657 Russian men. The people were aged between 25 and 64 and were closely examined for 14 years. The results were shocking, 2/3 of the people who had a heart attack had sleep disorders.
Also, the people with sleep disorders had 2.6 times higher risk of myocardial infraction, and 1.5-4 times higher stroke risk.

4. Suicide

There was a study conducted in 2014, which showed that lack of sleep and suicide are related in adults, even if they have no history with depression. The Stanford University of Medicine did this study for 10 years and followed 420 participants who were aged middle to late adulthood. Out of all these people, 20 committed suicide. According to the researchers, people who have sleep disorders have 1.4 greater risk of committing suicide.
People who were most vulnerable were 85+ aged white males. Also, they had other health problems caused by the sleep deprivation and age.

5. Ulcerative colitis

Not only can it happen because of lack of sleep, but also because of excessive sleep. This is according to a 2014 conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital. A study from the Nurses’ Health Study in 1976 and a second one in 1989 proved that the risk of ulcerative colitis is much higher in people who sleep 6 hours or less at night. Also, the risk is increased in people who sleep 9+ hours, so somewhere between 6-9 hours is the optimal time for sleeping. Also, there are other factors that affect this disease as well, like smoking, drinking, weight, age and more.

6. Prostate cancer

There was a study published by the Cancer Epidemology, Biomarkers and Prevention in 2013, which showed that people who have sleep problems are more prone to have prostate cancer. The study was conducted on 2425 men from Iceland and they were aged between 67 and 96. They were followed for 3-7 years and the people who had sleep problems had 60% higher risk of getting this disease than those who didn’t. Also, people who slept too much also had 2 times higher risk than those who slept normally.